Hypnotherapy, BlogHypfocus Therapies

According to a recent article in the New York Times there are 8 habits they recommend are established in your 20’s to optimise your chance of having a healthy life, these habits are:

Weigh yourself often.

Learn to cook

Cut back on sugar

Live an active life

Eat your veggies

Practice portion control

Adopt a post-party exercise routine

Find a job you love

If you’d like the read the full article here’s a linkWhile these points are all very important, they relate primarily to physical health, and undoubtedly will have a positive impact on mental health as well; however I’d like to take it further and add some points specifically aimed at fostering good mental health practices. Too often we take care of the body and neglect the mind. We monitor the whiteness of our teeth, the sheen of our hair and the width of our waistlines but neglect to monitor our stress levels.........

​Clients come to me having suffered Panic Attacks and Anxiety. Often they begin by telling me it happened out of the blue and they can’t think of one specific thing that’s triggered it. I don’t disagree with their assessment. Anxiety can be the outcome of a drip drip drip of emotional stressors. Niggling work stress, family stress, social stress and even recreational stress can accumulate until instead of a few drips, you have an overflowing basin of Stress and Anxiety. If you want to prevent the flood damage that will occur, it’s important to take preventative action. To remove the plug as it were and allow some of that stress and anxiety to be released.

A daily practice of mindfulness is a good start; this allows the mind to release some of the stress resevoir while returning the surface of the pool to a calm reflective state. The levels drop and this creates some coping leeway for any stressful events that may arise unexpectedly. Mindfulness teaches you to be more aware of yourself and your own responses to stress so that you pick up on tension or any other tell-tale sign that your levels are rising early and are able to do something about it.

If you notice your anxiety levels are rising, acknowledging the anxiety is a good start, you can say to yourself “I’m feeling anxious” which in itself can have a calming effect, then slow your breathing and internal dialogue and focus on your breath for a few moments. Don’t’ try to fight or suppress the anxiety, simply acknowledge it and take steps to reverse the effects of it. As physically uncomfortable as anxiety feels, it is not dangerous. If you can, get up and walk around, if you can find a private spot maybe stretch a little, and try cupping your hands at the front and back of your head as this is soothing, one hand across the forehead and one hand across the back of the head.

When you become more aware of yourself and more in tune with your inner voice another important skill to learn in managing your anxiety is to learn the skill of saying no. By becoming comfortable in using this word you can avoid over committing yourself, over tiring yourself, doing things that make you uncomfortable, bored, frustrated, in fact the list is endless. It’s a wonderful little word, possibly the most underrated and under used word there is. This particularly applies to caring, giving sensitive people. I always offer the following adage for their consideration “givers have to set boundaries because takers never do”. I’ll just recap on that word, the word is NO! Say it loud say it proud and say it as often as you feel you need to!

If you have been brought up in an anxious household it can take more work to unlearn the anxious habits that have been normalised for you since you were a child, and probably continue to be normalised to this day. It’s very possible to do so though. Anxiety is a habit that the brain has learned, and it can be unlearned and replaced with a new thinking style and habit. Therapy can definitely fast track this process.

Try to avoid unnecessary stimulants, particularly if you have a history of Anxiety. Keep caffeine to a minimum, skip the energy drinks and recreational drugs that are designed put you into any kind of overdrive. My experience is that anxious people on these recreational drugs suffer consequences for days after, with symptoms including impaired decision making, extreme procrastination, memory lapses, shattered confidence and increased fear of anxiety and/or panic attacks. This is the opposite of fun. Don’t use other people to gauge how you think you “should respond” to a drug or tell yourself that “they all seem fine”, because everyone is different. People that don’t have high levels of anxiety are taking these drugs from a lower base . Some may sleep off the obvious affects overnight but in more cases than you probably imagine, they are struggling to function and hold down their jobs and putting all their energy into trying to “act normal” followed by going home to agonise about whether they successfully pulled it off or if everyone was aware of their inner turmoil. I hear this story repeated over and over again and each person thinks that they were the” unlucky one” that was “affected differently” this time. I’ve known people quit their dream jobs because they became concerned that they were about to be “found out”.

Connect with people. Human connection is a basic human need, make a phone call, see people face to face, if you don’t have people you can call maybe volunteer or join a Meet-Up Group. If anxiety is getting in the way of you making connections, Therapy will help. There are people out there whose company you will enjoy, there are even groups for people that are socially anxious. Don’t give up on or dismiss the importance of human connection, it matters to your mental health.

Be creative and/or do something that you can become engrossed in and really go with the flow of. Paint, learn an instrument, walk in nature, sing, dance around your living room, do a jigsaw, colour in, read a book, smell a flower, plant a flower! Explore new interests; there are no limits to the things that are waiting to be explored.

Be grateful, look for things to be grateful for and your brain will get better and better at it.

Be kind and caring. Doing things for others without an agenda is highly rewarding, your brain will reward you with feel good chemicals.

These are just some ways in which you can look after your mental health. Do you have any others you’d like to share? Please feel free to comment below.

If you'd like help dealing with Anxiety and Stress give me a call on 0435 923 817. For more information visit this page

Georgina Mitchell is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Professional Counsellor at Hypfocus Therapies in Mentone.

Leave a Reply.

Author

Melbourne Hypnotherapist Georgina Mitchell was born in Ireland, moving to Australia in 1989. Georgina Specialises in helping people with Anxiety Disorders and is an active member of the Melbourne Hypnotherapy Community. In Melbourne Hypnosis is being accepted as effective tool for anyone wanting to achieve a positive change in Mood, Behaviour and Habit.

Hypnotherapy Melbourne Reviews for Hypfocus

"Georgina has helped me overcome depression and anxiety so that I was able to finish my course and get a job. I've started going to the gym again which I had previously given up because I felt too self-conscious and couldn't stand being hot. It's really changed my life for the better, I can manage my thoughts and don't have the overwhelming feelings that used to see me spiraling downwards anymore. I've tried other therapies and this was my last resort, I can't recommend her highly enough"

Disclaimer: As with all therapies Hypnotherapy results vary from person to person. This website is not intended as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. The reader should consult their GP for medical advice and for any symptoms that may require medical intervention. The content on this website is for the information of people considering Hypnotherapy at Hypfocus.

Hypfocus Practitioner Georgina Mitchell Is A Member of the HCA

Hypfocus is not a Crisis service. If you need urgent assistance please call Lifeline on 131114 or visit the lifeline chatline here

Find Out More:

Enquire Here Today

* Indicates required field

Name *

First

Last

(Please note this form is for client enquiries only, no Sales, Marketing or SEO Messages)